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I'm putting this here to get the most eyes on it as possible. One thing they said very much struck a chord; the bit about the atmosphere of most comic book shops. I must admit at my local comic book shops I very seldom see women, teens, kids, or really anyone other than men aged 30s-40s with a few 20-year-olds scattered in. Contrast this to Barnes & Noble where I buy some of my Manga all ages are present in that section -
[video=youtube_share;kMXl6XGcFS4]https://youtu.be/kMXl6XGcFS4[/video]
I think a lot of the problem is that manga is more easily accessible to kids and teens and twentysomethings, as well as to the more demographically diverse markets comics want to appeal to, but comics are still largely shackled to the old and arguably outdated means of distribution that adults with disposable income and independent transportation are accustomed to using, as well as reluctant to change. In fact, that's very likely the crux of the problem --- the mainstream comics industry at this point, for all the pontificating and posturing, is still afraid to fully embrace change and progress, largely because it's afraid that if it somehow loses or even lessens that hard core of adult readers who've been fans for years or decades and are thus viewed by the industry as more reliable and loyal consumers compared to the younger and more diverse demographics it hopes to woo, it'll die out entirely.
That's the real issue, ultimately --- the mainstream American comics industry, as represented by Marvel and DC, is caught between the reality that it has to evolve and broaden its output and appeal if it wants to survive, much less thrive in an environment where people have more entertainment options than ever before, and the impulse to just double down on its supposedly more reliable traditional consumers, some of whom have been strongly resistant to any meaningful change in how characters and stories are presented and interpreted, or who tells those stories in the first place. It's like Scylla and Charybdis; fully committing to evolving into something "new and different" will most likely anger and even alienate the more traditional fans/readers, but continuing to pump out the same old content through the same old comparatively limited distribution channels will just perpetuate the stagnation that keeps younger fans/readers from engaging with Big Two comics, which will be even more damaging in the long run.
[QUOTE=Huntsman Spider;5832778]I think a lot of the problem is that manga is more easily accessible to kids and teens and twentysomethings, as well as to the more demographically diverse markets comics want to appeal to, but comics are still largely shackled to the old and arguably outdated means of distribution that adults with disposable income and independent transportation are accustomed to using, as well as reluctant to change. In fact, that's very likely the crux of the problem --- the mainstream comics industry at this point, for all the pontificating and posturing, is still afraid to fully embrace change and progress, largely because it's afraid that if it somehow loses or even lessens that hard core of adult readers who've been fans for years or decades and are thus viewed by the industry as more reliable and loyal consumers compared to the younger and more diverse demographics it hopes to woo, it'll die out entirely.
That's the real issue, ultimately --- the mainstream American comics industry, as represented by Marvel and DC, is caught between the reality that it has to evolve and broaden its output and appeal if it wants to survive, much less thrive in an environment where people have more entertainment options than ever before, and the impulse to just double down on its supposedly more reliable traditional consumers, some of whom have been strongly resistant to any meaningful change in how characters and stories are presented and interpreted, or who tells those stories in the first place. It's like Scylla and Charybdis; fully committing to evolving into something "new and different" will most likely anger and even alienate the more traditional fans/readers, but continuing to pump out the same old content through the same old comparatively limited distribution channels will just perpetuate the stagnation that keeps younger fans/readers from engaging with Big Two comics, which will be even more damaging in the long run.[/QUOTE]
Co-signed
I feel they do try to take some leaps but most of them haven't landed which only adds to the fear.
1610 was a great way to bring in readers because it takes away the continuity problem of having decades of comics behind us.
This + A better distribution + cheaper cost structures would be enough to make them better.
There's a way to appeal to both old and new, as long as you're honoring the original character and not sidelining/harming them for their "new" both can co-exist.DC has that figured out IMO(but I hear today's AC issue may be falling back onto the sidelining/killing trope.I haven't seen the comic yet so here's hoping it's wrong) but Marvel have been very much against co-existing and when that happens they rarely interact.